Acquainted with the Night
by Kamikazee
Summary: During the summer before her 6th year, Ginny Weasley is bitten by a werewolf. Now one herself, she must learn to deal with the help of a fellow werewolf, Remus Lupin. But, somewhere along the path of coping and self-discovery their relationship evolves.
1. Prologue

Acquainted with the Night  
Prologue  
A Harry Potter Fanfiction by Kamikazee  
  
Disclaimer: Harry Potter is property of J. K. Rowling, not me, obviously... The poem Acquainted with the Night is owned by Robert Frost.  
  
Author's Note: Okay, this is my first attempt at Harry Potter fanfiction, longtime reader, first time writer. I would really appreciate some feedback, suggestions, problems, whatever. I got this idea while re-reading Chamber of Secrets and Prisoner of Azkaban. An attempt to get in-depth with two of my favorite characters and see the world through the eyes of a werewolf. Enjoy!   
  
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I have been one acquainted with the night.  
  
I have walked out in rain -- and back in rain.  
  
I have out walked the furthest city light.  
  
  
I have looked down the saddest city lane.  
  
I have passed the watchmen on his beat  
  
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain.  
  
  
I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet  
  
When far away an interrupted cry  
  
Came over houses from another street.  
  
  
But not to call me back or say goodbye;  
  
And further still at an unearthly height,  
  
O luminary clock against the sky  
  
  
Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.  
  
I have been one acquainted with the night.  
  
Robert Frost - Acquainted with the Night  
  
Acquainted with the Night  
  
The full moon shone down on the crowded party in and surrounding the Burrow. The crowds of people delighted in the carefree night. Today they could relax, celebrate, pretend they weren't waging a deadly war in secret. For today, today was the seventeenth birthday of Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived.  
  
Sixteen year old Virginia Weasley sat unnoticed in the yard, watching as the people around her celebrated. She knew that all this was just a weak attempt at a normalcy none of them could acquire as long as Voldemort lived on. They would have there fun, trying to forget that tomorrow it would all start again. The fear, the suspicion, the waiting. Ginny had already decided that the waiting was by far the worst. Knowing you could do nothing, unsure of what was yet to come, a feeling of complete and utter helplessness.  
  
Cornelius Fudge had yet to admit anything wrong, making it harder upon those trying to help. Voldemort raised very little commotion, concentrating small attacks on those planning against him. The past two years had been much the same, guessing, watching, making plans, and waiting. Always waiting, waiting for Voldemort to make his move.   
  
The stress was really taking its toll. This party gave everyone a much needed break, that they were taking full advantage of. Fred and George, having abandoned the joke shop until the war was over were completely smashed. Ginny watched in amusement as her twin brothers attempted to seduce a very awkward looking Oliver Wood. Wood was rescued by the ever pretentious Percy, who was rising quickly in the ministry of magic, helping from the inside.  
  
Harry himself was participating in a mismatched game of tackle football on the lawn. It was six versus six. Harry's team consisted of himself, Ron, Hermione, Neville Longbottom, Angelina Johnson and Pavarti Patil. The opposing team held Seamus Finnigan, Justin Flinch-Flenchly, Alicia Spinnet, Colin Creevey, Lavender Brown and Katie Bell. The only ones who were actually playing were Harry, Ron, Angelina, Seamus, Alicia and Katie. Ron and Hermione were fighting, Neville looked confused, Pavarti and Lavender were discussing fashion and Colin and Justin were foolishly attempting to separate Ron and Hermione. All in all it was quite amusing.  
  
A scream from her mother told Ginny that the drunken twins had pulled a joke. A glance around the yard again proved that, the garden gnomes were now dancing in sync and singing the Grease soundtrack. Her father looked on with an amused smile.   
  
Ginny sighed and wearily pushed a strand of blood red, shoulder length hair behind her ear. She got up and quietly walked away form the still-going party. She needed peace and quiet. Ginny made her way into the woods, the moonlight giving a slim path of light. The two years since the end of her third year had changed the youngest Weasley. She now realized the truth of her crush on Harry Potter. She had been entranced by his fame and great deeds. The infatuation of a child.  
  
In September, Ginny would be starting her sixth year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She looked upon that unemotionally. Ginny neither dreaded, nor awaited her arrival at the magical school. The reason for this was simple, she had nothing to dread or await. She was mostly ignored by her fellow classmates. Ginny blamed this on Tom Riddle.   
  
The incident in her first year with his diary had pre-occupied her to the point where she missed the critical time where friendships were made and reinforced in the school. So, Ginny had no real friends, she was barely noticed. In a sudden moment of acknowledgement, Virginia Amelie Weasley made a decision, this year she would be noticed. She would make friends. She was smart, she was nice, she was beautiful, she could do it.  
  
And she was. Ginny was a very dedicated student, a straight A student in everything but Transfiguration. She never spoke down or insulted anyone, helping when she could and was wanted. She was also most definitely beautiful. Apart from her fiery hair, she had glittering, periwinkle blue eyes set in a softly angular face with a small nose and shapely red lips. She was small, with a cat-like grace and subtle curves. All in all, Virginia emanated natural beauty.  
  
"This year I'll find people who will like me for who I am. No more living like I'm part of the background." Ginny promised herself, "This year will be different." Ginny smiled, the first real smile she'd had in a long time. It was time to get over her shyness.   
  
Seeming to suddenly realize her location, Ginny's smile turned to a frown. She had strayed deep into the forest, the light all but lost to the vast canopy of leaves above her. All Ginny could see surrounding her were the thick trunks of rowan and oak trees. Shrubs, brambles and bushes blocked the gound from sight. The path itself, once so wide and clean, was now narrow and winding, fading in and out and blocked by overgrown vines and large tree roots. Ginny whirled around and took up a hurried walk in the direction of the Burrow.   
  
"Are you daft Weasley?" she asked herself angrily, "Wandering this deep into the forest at night! With a full moon, no less!" Soon enough Ginny found herself in a large, empty clearing. It was covered in dirt, small stones and debris, the center of it slightly burnt and covered in ash. She sagged with relief, realizing she was somewhat close to home. Ginny remembered playing here as a child with her older brothers. This was where Fred and George would light Filibuster Wet Start fireworks and the boys would play Quidditch where the muggles couldn't see them.  
  
However, Ginny's relief was short lived as a feral growl emanated from the darkness beyond the edge of the clearing. Her blue eyes widened in fear as she turned to face the direction from which she estimated the growl originated. As with the rest of the forest it was darkened by the surrounding trees and covered in brush. In this light it was impossible to distinguish much.   
  
"Please, please, please, be my imagination," Ginny whispered softly, as she prayed to every deity she could remember, knowing the woods harbored several dangerous animals. Her prayers were unanswered as a dark form leapt from the bushes. The wolf bristled as the scared red-head yelped and the large, wild canine began stalking forward.  
  
Letting her fear and instinct take over, Ginny fled like the wind, the wolf on her tail. She wove through the trees and jumped over fallen logs, never once slowing, even the tiniest millisecond was important. Her face and arms were scratched by branches and rubbish, the redhead never more relieved that she had chosen pants over shorts for the day. Ginny could hear the thumping and the panting of the wolf following behind. The adrenaline rushing through her veins, the scared young woman sped up even more.  
  
After what was thought to be hours by the panicking Weasley, Ginny crashed through the brush and out of the forest. She could see the leaning form of her house, still loud and bright as the celebration continued. Ginny was scarcely two hundred meters off the front door. She gulped in air, eyes bright with tears of relief, believing herself safe. A moment later, the breath was knocked out of Ginny, along with the belief, when she was knocked to the ground by a large weight hitting her back.  
  
Ginny rolled quickly onto her back. She was met with the sight of her shaggy animal pursuer. The wolfs large, hairy jaw filled with yellowing, razor sharp, incisors was bearing down on her dirty and scratched face, its eyes expressing the amazing high received as it hunted its now caught prey. In a last feeble attempt at protection, Ginny through her arms over top of her head.  
  
A white hot agony swept through Virginia Weasley's arm as the wolf's teeth sunk into her tender flesh. She let out one blood-piercing, pain-ridden scream before succumbing to the abyss of unconsciousness...  
  
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Authors Note: Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed. Please send you feedback. Should I continue? Mistakes? Advice? Ideas? Anything. Dai. 


	2. Chapter 1

Acquainted with the Night  
Chapter 1  
A Harry Potter Fanfiction by Kamikazee  
  
Author's Note: Well, I got very good reviews for the first chapter, so here's the second. A little, not so subtle, foreshadowing at the end. This chapter is very... introspective. Oh well... R/R  
  
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Remus Lupin looked down upon the sleeping redhead with a flurry of tangled emotions. When Dumbledore had owled him he was hit with two very opposing feelings. He pitied the young woman whose life was about to be ripped apart by a double identity, an uncontrollable dark side. But, at the very back of his mind, where his selfish thoughts roamed, came another idea. The idea that he no longer had to be alone, that someone had come that could share the burden of darkness and loneliness with him.   
  
Remus was appalled at this thought. He didn't want a child with so many opportunities ahead of her pulled into his dark world of suspicion, mistrust and solitude. He would not wish this upon his worst enemy, let alone an innocent of which he barely knew, such as the one now lying prone on the bed.  
  
The sight of her pale skin surrounded by a halo of blood red hair only served to strengthen Remus' resolve. He would help Virginia Weasley. Help her deal with the anger. Help her deal with the animal. Help her deal with the change. He would provide for her what he had never had the privilege of receiving, trust and support.  
  
As Remus studied the bloody bandage covering the viscous bite wound on Ginny's right arm he was unconsciously pulled into the memory of his own turning. It occurred years and years in the past, but Remus could still remember the event as if it had come to pass yesterday.  
  
*Flashback*  
  
The night was eerily calm and quiet. The large full moon cast its unearthly glow upon the small muggle playground. The teeter-totter lay unmoving, with no children to rock it back and forth. A stray, fallen leaf fell lightly down the empty, old fashioned, metal, free-standing slide. The bright colors of the climbing structure were dimmed in the gloom of the night. A wisp of wind moved through the park, causing one of the swings to sway and let out a very audible creak, disturbing the oppressing silence. The young boy sitting in the mentioned swing's neighbor jumped at the suddenness of the seemingly loud sound.  
  
He was nine, perhaps ten, years old. His light brown hair fell haphazardly over warm hazel eyes. Young Remus Lupin was dressed in old jeans and an oversized white tee-shirt. His eyes roamed about the playground nervously as he ran a hand through his unruly hair.  
  
"C'mon Dad, where are you?" the boy was whispering apprehensively to his absent father. Remus' gaze could not penetrate the shadows caused by the towering pine trees surrounding the park and a sense of foreboding was heavy in the air.  
  
Wind swept through the playground. Leaves scattered, the teeter-totter crashed as the balance shifted to the opposite side. The empty swing swirled without direction on the current, its chains creaking with rust and age. Remus shifted uncomfortably as the wind played with his hair, throwing it fortuitously about his face.  
  
Remus stopped trying to tame his wildly flying hair as a low, rumbling growl emanated from behind him. The boy whirled around, only to find himself face to face with a giant wolf. Its panting breath was blown into Remus' face. It smelt like death and decay and a mer whiff of the nauseous gas made Remus sick to the very pit of his stomach. The wolf's shaggy gray mane was not kept, tangled with leaves and twigs and matted together in disgusting lumps.  
  
In a flash, the wild canine erupted with fury and was upon young Remus, easily holding down the panicked child. Its razor-sharp claws scratched the boys legs and arms as he squirmed helplessly and hopelessly beneath this larger and stronger foe. The wolfs absurdly large canines descended upon a hysteric Remus.  
  
The young boys terrified and pain-filled screams filled the night and strangers shivered safely in their tightly locked homes. None dared to risk their lives for heroism.  
  
*Flashback*  
  
"Arghhhhhhh..." Remus was pulled from the darkness of his memories as a groan erupted from the still prone form of Ginny Weasley. Her closed eyes winced at the stabbing pain emanating from her still raw bite wound.  
  
Remus glanced around the room anxiously. Ginny had been taken to Hogwarts and was currently recuperating in the Hospital Wing. Remus had always strongly disliked the Hospital Wing. He had always thought that it was to sterile, to impersonal. White walls accented white ceilings, which were matched by white sheets covering stainless steel furniture. Antiseptic potions gave the air a tangible rank and medical smell. It made Remus sick. He had always hated hospitals. They reminded him to much that not all diseases had a cure...  
  
The room that usually contained a busy Madame Pomfrey seemed lonely and bland without her. Dumbledore had insisted that it would be best if Remus were the one to explain what had happened to Virginia one on one with her. Of course, Remus completely hated the idea. He did not want to be the one to tell her that her life had practically ended that night. Remus also had absolutely no experience in dealing with hysterical teenage girls.  
  
Not surprisingly, Remus had not been the only one to disagree with Dumbledore's chosen plan of action. Arthur and Molly had been quite adamant that they wanted to be at their daughter's side when the news was broken to her. That is, if they didn't tell her themselves. The Weasley parents wanted their youngest and only daughter to be aware that she had their complete love and support no matter what.  
  
But Dumbledore had been equally adamant. He insisted that Ginny needed to be able to relate to someone, that she needed someone who utterly understand the new experiences she was experiencing. He explained that she would need time to adjust before having the will to face two of the most important people in her life, her parents.  
  
Remus could find absolutely no reason to contradict and deny the old man's knowledge and wisdom. For that he irrationally resented the aged headmaster.  
  
"Well, it's now or never, old chap," Remus muttered to himself as Virginia Weasley's eyes began to flutter open as she regained consciousness.   
  
"Eurghhhhhhhh..." a second groan erupted from the, now not so human, girl on the bed, "Wha... What happened?" The choked words pushed from the dried out and dehydrated mouth terrified Remus. The time had come.  
  
"Ms. Weasley," he began uncertainly, "do you remember me?" This was proving to be more difficult than Remus could ever have imagined in his most frightening dreams. Ginny looked at him carefully for several seconds before recognition dawned in her beautiful blue orbs.   
  
"Professor Lupin?" she inquired softly. Remus simply nodded in response. He hadn't been sure if she would remember him, he had taught in her second year and she was soon to start her sixth.   
  
"Good." Remus replied after a second of hesitation, "What do you remember about the attack?" The question was drawn out slowly, as if the man saying it was testing each word as it rolled of his tongue. Remus was purposefully keeping his voice soft and non-intimidating.  
  
"I... I was in the woods, walking, during Harry's party," Ginny's brow furrowed in confusion as she sorted through her brain. "then... A Wolf! It attacked me! Oh my God! How am I still alive?!"  
  
"Yes..." Remus confirmed her memories. At least she didn't forget, that would have made things much more difficult. "But, Ms. Weasley... Ginny, that wasn't a normal wolf, it was a werewolf. Like me... and I hate having to be the one to tell you this... but like you too." Remus finished his explanation. He then proceeded to wait for Ginny's reaction carefully with sorrow filled hazel eyes.   
  
"Wh... Wha... What?" she finally spit out shakily, "Oh! Yeah... Ha Ha Ha. Yeah, some joke. Real funny." Ginny looked very shaken as she claimed to her joke theory. She began muttering about Fred and George's twisted sense of humor and having the both of them institutionalized.   
  
"I'm sorry..." Remus stuttered uneasily, looking Ginny straight in her eyes. Hazel met blue. Then, a split second later, Virginia Amelie Weasley's world came crashing down around her feet. Remus realized later, in a moment of introspection, that she had probably seen it in his eyes, the truth, the pain, the utter helplessness. However, at the time, Remus was rather occupied with the teen hysterically crying on the bed.   
  
Letting his instincts guide his actions, Remus sat on the bed and pulled Ginny to him. He cradled her as he would a baby and she clung to like he was her lifeline as she continued to cry uncontrollably into his chest, soaking the material of his already shabby robes. Remus simply held the girl and rocked them both back and forth in a soothing manner as they grieved lost and tattered lives.  
  
He had no idea how many hours passed like this, but eventually the sobs diminished to light hiccuping. Remus easily made out the muffled words that followed the lull as they vibrated of his chest.   
  
"Wh... What happens n... now?' The question was depicted in a way that indicated that the speaker had been drained totally of all energy. Ginny sounded so much like a child at that moment, lost and confused.  
  
"Now... Now you live, you heal, you cope," Remus told her quietly, strength hidden behind the unassuming and simple words. "We will get through this, together."  
  
They fell asleep soon after and never once changed their position. Remus had his arms wrapped around Ginny, holding her close, Ginny had her head buried in Remus' chest. The simple presence of one comforted the other.  
  
Thus two lonely souls were brought together in one of the many melodramatic twist of fate that life includes. What is to come, is up to them, but whatever the choices they make upon their journey, nothing will ever be the same again...   
  
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Author's Note: Well... like? It took me quite a while to write this chapter, but I did it. Question, comments, criticism, ideas? 


	3. Chapter 2

Acquainted with the Night  
Chapter 2  
A Harry Potter Fanfiction by Kamikazee  
  
A.N.- Okay, I know it took me a really long time to update and I am so sorry!!!!! It's been a little difficult this year starting at a new school and all but I'm all adapted and stuff now! I'd like to thank all the people who reviewed; it really does help. Anyway, on with the fic.  
  
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I can't help but feel sorry about all the things that I've done wrong so far. The thing that hurts the most is that I know I can't fix them. I'll never be able to forget or erase what's been done to me and what I've done to everyone else. It hurts.  
  
Sometimes, when I'm lying in bed and I can't sleep I think about things. Those times when there are no tears left I wonder what things could have been like, if I had been different.  
  
During the past week, my dreams are taunting me with possible answers. When I wake up, though, it's still the same world, the same pain. There's only a couple of seconds, right when I wake up, that I can actually believe in dreams.  
  
I'm such a fool, a little girl bumbling through everything. I can never stop making mistakes, and remembering them everyday. Tom's the worst. Sweet Tom who took advantage of my naiveté, of my belief that the line between evil and good was so clear. Sometimes, when I go to that really dark place in my mind, I can still feel dirty blood on my hands. No matter how long I go, I'll never be able to escape the horror of my first year.  
  
The worst part is, I miss him. As evil as he was, he listened to me, and he made me feel like I was important to someone. I wish I could find a way to feel like that again.  
  
It's a child's dream, there's no room for that in me anymore.  
  
But even so, the one thing I regret, above even Tom, was easily the stupidest thing I have ever had the misfortune of doing.  
  
My name is Virginia Amelie Weasley. I am sixteen years old. I am soon to start my sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am a werewolf.  
  
At the end of my first year, Tom left me as a pitiful shell of what I once was. I honestly believed I was nothing, nothing worth saving, nothing worth killing, nothing worth time. Now, with four more years of mistakes and barely passing through life, I realize my error. Back then I was something. It is now, and only now, that dropped down to the level of absolute nothingness.  
  
Wait. I'm wrong again, no big surprise. Now I am not nothing. Now I am a monster. An evil creature that deserves nothing less than death. Nothingness would be almost preferable to the monster I am now. Because now I am a disgrace to everyone I hold dear.  
  
Of course, they'd deny it. They, of course, fully support me. Yet that is not what their eyes tell me when they look upon what I am now. The mixture of pity and fear gnaws at me relentlessly like a thousand gnats to the point where I can barely stand to meet their eyes. My family. My teachers. Harry. Hermione.  
  
Oddly enough, though, they don't push it. They leave me to myself. Maybe they think I will just disappear if they leave me alone. Maybe they see my decent into the darkness that now defines my life and feel no need to stop it. Of course, it matters very little to me either way.  
  
What matters is the one person who can still meet my eyes, and insists upon doing just that. Remus Lupin. He will not leave me alone. He comes by every single day, like clockwork, ever since I cried myself to sleep beside him that terrible day in the hospital wing. I have long since left there, and now confine myself and my activities to a private room in Gryffindor Tower.  
  
Random visitors still enter, usually leaving quickly at the confrontation of the stony silence I have enforced that I refuse to break. But he does not follow by the rules I have established, even if they are only in my mind. Three times a day he brings in my meals. He sits with me until I finish, making sure I eat every last crumb. We don't talk; it would break my imposed muteness. He is, simply, just there.  
  
Soon, he will come, bringing the dinner that I will eat, even if I no longer appreciate the flavours. He will sit across from me and look into my eyes, searching, always searching, for something within their depths. I have no idea what he looks for when he does this, nor do I know if he has even the smallest chance of finding it in me. ~  
  
Ginny Weasley closed the small coil bound book, setting her plain quill beside it. It had surprised her, when she had begun yet again to express her thoughts with the written word. Bu, only with the brush strokes of familiar letters could she seem to articulate the conflicting emotions warring within her psyche.  
  
Ginny refused to even glance upwards from the cover of her diary as the door to her room creaked open, she already knew who it would be. Remus Lupin, for his part, silently set the tray of food upon the small table, sitting across from it. Ginny rose slowly and joined him, used to the routine her life had taken by now. She began eating in silence, once again a now mundane part of her existence. Her pace was casual, she was in no hurry, nowhere to go, no one to meet.  
  
"You know," Remus told her softly, his voice reaching the jaded young woman easily, "you cannot stay locked in this room forever." The sound of his voice startled the redhead, causing her to jump lightly, the noise not often heard to her lately. Ginny turned her gaze to him sharply.  
  
"And why not?" she asked him in return, her voice hoarse from misuse, "What is out there that I need, or want?"  
  
"Your family is worried about you, Ginny," Remus replied, his voice sharpening slightly with rising ire, "and I think it is do time that you learn that what you want is not what makes the world turn. And that is what you need to understand, the world is still turning, whether you want it to, or not."  
  
"If the world will keep turning no matter what I do, what does it matter if I stay here forever?" Ginny shot back to her fellow werewolf. "What does it matter to you what I do anyway?"  
  
Remus sighed in frustration as he looked upon the girl who had gone so adrift in such a short amount of time. She looked so lost. He was trying desperately to control his anger; she was still dealing, after all.  
  
"It matters because I want you to have chances that I never had. I want to be able to help you go through what I had to go through alone. I don't want to see you destroy yourself because you're to immersed in self-pity to see that you are not alone!" Remus was breathing heavily by the end of his short rant, having just spilled many of his most carefully guarded emotions to an unstable, teenage werewolf.  
  
Feeling he had contributed enough for the night, Remus Lupin rose silently from the small table in the lonely room and walked out the door to the outside world. Ginny Weasley, for her own role, sat perfectly still, and for the first time since the accident that changed her life forever, actually considered following him.  
  
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A.N.- Well, there you go. After fighting an extreme case of writers block and an amazingly difficult first couple months of grade 9, I completed the next chapter. I hope you all like it! Please keep reading and review.  
  
~Kamikazee~ 


	4. Chapter 3

Acquainted with the Night  
Chapter 3  
  
Author: Kamikazee E-Mail: neo_kamikazee@hotmail.com Rating: PG-13 Summary: When Ginny Weasley is turned into a werewolf, there's only one person who can help her. Will Remus Lupin be able to save her? Author's Notes: Okay, I know and am sorry that I stopped working on this. Lately, there's just been no inspiration from my muse. As it is, this will be the last chapter of Acquainted with the Night. There may be an epilogue, but that is all. Thank you all for sending me feedback and encouraging me.  
  
~  
  
As the sunset and the half moon rose in the clear sky, there would be little going on if you looked over the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There was no movement, and to the casual observer, there was no life. However, if you were to pay close attention to a specific rock beside the lake, you would eventually be able to distinguish the form of a man.  
  
A man who was not always a man, who was busy brooding over a girl who would not always be a girl. And by that I mean, Remus Lupin was in quiet contemplation about the well being of Ginny Weasley.  
  
Most men, when faced with the coldness he was faced everyday, would give up on humanity. Remus Lupin was not, as you may have guessed, most men. A jewel among men who had always, despite the circumstances, retained an unending resource of faith in everyone he met.  
  
Suffice to say, many referred to him as a bleeding heart. When Remus Lupin decides to help someone, he will help him or her. Say what you will about him, but he is determined. This determination is advantageous in many ways, and in other ways it is the opposite.  
  
That, coincidentally, was the reason for his current state of meditation. The determination that was instilled into his being made it very hard for him to deal with defeat. Remus Lupin feared that he had been defeated in his quest to help Ginny Weasley deal with her new condition.  
  
No matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried, she refused to accept the new part of her existence. It was understandable, but frustrating. That, of course, explained the sadness the man was feeling at the moment. The anger was a whole different story.  
  
Remus Lupin was not angry with Ginny Weasley. Even the thought of being so disgusted him. Who he was angry with was he. The frustration that had been building inside of himself at his inability to save the girl had culminated. He had exploded at her, raising her voice, accusing her. That was the reason for his anger.  
  
Of course, what Remus Lupin didn't know of was the spark his outburst had awoken in the very girl he was trying so hard to help. Ever since he had parted, Ginny Weasley had sat in a similar silence of deliberation in her rooms.  
  
The youngest Weasley had taken what he had said out of frustration to heart. The words he was angry at himself for saying were actually being more helpful than anything else he had already done. For the first time since the incident, she had actually listened to someone.  
  
By listening, I don't mean conversation, lectures, and stuttered wishes for her to get well soon. I'm talking about the kind of listening that you take inside yourself, that you believe and think about.  
  
The gears of her brain had been turning for hours, going through memories, possibilities, hopes and dreams. Throughout this self-evaluation she had realized what Remus Lupin had been trying to tell her all along.  
  
She wasn't alone. What she did affected others. There was still a world that was moving, despite the aching hollowness she felt inside herself. Of course, the hollowness was still there. She liked to believe, however, that a small piece of it had been filled. Maybe, just maybe, it would be all filled up eventually.  
  
For the first time in a long while, Ginny Weasley actually wanted something. She wanted to find Remus Lupin and thank him. To tell him that she understood. All of a sudden there were so many things that she needed to know. Of course, there was only one way to do what she wanted to do.  
  
There in lied the problem she was currently debating. Because, despite her new revelations, Ginny Weasley's psyche was still amazingly fragile. To leave the room would be to go back out there, where bad things could happen. You see, good things may not have happened in that room, but neither did bad things.  
  
It was with frazzled nerves and shaking limbs that the red-haired werewolf slowly descended the stairs. The usually short trip was lengthened with her overwhelming fear and slight paranoia.  
  
As a trip, that was both overwhelmingly long and crushingly short, came close to its end, Ginny found herself on the steps leading to the grounds. The darkness of night around her was real, as was the half moon that shone light on her, causing her to shiver, despite the warm temperature.  
  
The fear was choking her, as she saw the trees of the Forbidden Forest. But, to her, they were not the trees of the Forbidden Forest. They were the trees of memory; a memory of a clearing and of a monster, a memory or running and of pain, and a memory of helplessness.  
  
"Ginny?" the voice seemed so far away to the 16-year-old, who was losing herself to the memory, "Ginny!"  
  
Suddenly strong arms were around her, holding her, comforting her. A warm voice whispered soothing nothings into her ear to chase away the nightmare. Slowly, the girl came back to herself.  
  
"I was so scared." came the tear soaked whisper, coated with pain and vulnerability.  
  
"I know," Remus' soothing voice comforted her, "I know but it's alright. It's over."  
  
"I don't ever want to be that scared again," was the sobbed confession Ginny made to her fellow werewolf."  
  
"You won't," was his gentle replay, "You won't. I won't let you. Don't worry, I'll protect you."  
  
"I don't want to be scared. I want to be happy. I want to be able to not be afraid." She rushed out, pleading him with her eyes.  
  
"You will be able to. You just need to keep going. I'll help you. I'll always be there for you when you need it."  
  
Wide teary eyes looked up at him before her next words came out. "Do you promise?"  
  
A kindly smile spread over Remus Lupin's face. He stared the girl straight in the eyes and told her quite seriously, "Promise."  
  
That was how they stayed for a while, in each other's arms, sharing the pain they both shared with the only ones who could understand it. Though it may have never happened if it weren't for terrible circumstances, a bond had been formed between the two. A bond can mean many things, and it will be up to them what they make of it.  
  
"What happens now?"  
  
"Now, we live."  
  
~  
  
A.N.: So, what do you think? The possible epilogue I was thinking of doing would be a short one, depicting Ginny's transformation. Do you think I should try it? 


	5. Epilogue

Acquainted with the Night  
Epilogue  
  
Author: Kamikazee E-Mail: neo_kamikazee@hotmail.com Rating: PG Summary: When Ginny Weasley is turned into a werewolf, only one person can help her, Remus Lupin. Author's Note: This is the epilogue. When I originally started this story, I planned for it to be longer, but I think it's better at this length. I hope you enjoy. Author's Note 2: This takes place quite awhile after the last chapter. Disclaimer: Everything affiliated with Harry Potter does not belong to me. It belongs to J. K. Rowling and Warner Bros. Author's Note 3: This is kind of an introspective piece, from Ginny's POV.  
  
~  
  
Have you ever felt like your skin is being shredded? Has the sensation of your bones reforming themselves ever come to you? The feeling of fur growing all over your skin? The way your spine changes shape?  
  
No, I don't suppose you ever have. But, then again, you probably don't want to. You're probably content to sit in your homes, safe in the dull mediocrity of your lives. Content to never feel the pain I experience every month.  
  
However, it isn't only pain you're missing out on. Someone once said, that there is no good if not for bad. After all, if you didn't have bad, how would you measure good? You're asking yourself now, how can there be good in becoming this monstrosity.  
  
You'll never know, never understand. The way the moon pulls me, the way I know its cycles even on a cloudy night. You'll never know the feeling of wind sweeping though fur. You'll never be able to experience the power I feel, knowing that nothing can stop me.  
  
The power is amazing. Whether it comes from running through the forest, hunting prey under the fool moon, or anything else. Knowing what I know now, I can see why people crave this power. I understand the people that will do anything to achieve what they think of as power.  
  
Now you're thinking I'm a little crazy. You're thinking that the power has coerced me to the side of the dark lord. No, it's not like that. Not like that at all. You see, Lord Voldemort only gives empty offers of power; promises that tell of a time when they will rule.  
  
I don't need his fake power. I have real power. My power doesn't come from fear of a name or from social standing. My power is primal, real. A power as old as time itself. My power comes from a time when humans still held a fear of being hunted. That fear stemmed from my power.  
  
That's what I tell myself when they look at me the way they do. They all have the fear inside them. The ones who admit it, they have my respect, it's the others I pity. The ones who hide the fear they won't admit with harsh words. The ones that like to deem me less than me.  
  
Not that that's anything new. Those ones have always looked down on me, and they always will. No matter what I do, where I go, they will always find a way to belittle me. It used to give me grief, the way they didn't understand what was really important. Now, all I feel for them is pity. Pity, because they have to attempt to hide their fear with the delusion of power. Pity, because they cannot feel the power I have.  
  
So, let them have their lies, deceit, hate and fear. I am happy to stay with the moon as my companion.  
  
This is my curse. This is my gift. This is mine.  
  
~  
  
I'm really happy with the way this turned out. Thoughts? Comments? I love to hear from you guys. 


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